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Original poster

How do people afford Mulberry bags?

119 replies

Stokey · 05/12/2013 14:08

There were two girls on either side of me on the tube last night each with a Mulberry bag and both in their 20s. And there are often threads on here about which one to buy.

Just wondering how people can manage to spend £800-1200 on a bag? I consider myself quite well off and couldn't justify it.

OP posts:
JapaneseMargaret · 05/12/2013 17:37

I got mine in the good old days of DINKs.

MrsCampbellBlack · 05/12/2013 17:53

I just assume that most of the women I know who have 'nice' bags are umm pretty wealthy. And like nice bags.

Apatite1 · 05/12/2013 18:29

Lots of disposable income. Wouldn't be buying them otherwise. Obviously.

MissBeehiving · 05/12/2013 18:36

My hairdresser has a Mulberry (a real one) which nice I have stroked it but not worth the ££ IMO

trixymalixy · 05/12/2013 18:42

I think they're massively overpriced now. I used to covet them, but I'd rather have a Sophie Hulme bag or a Celine if I win the lottery.

Most people I know with them either have fakes or were bought them as presents for significant birthdays/anniversarys.

Mintyy · 05/12/2013 18:47

I never ever notice what kind of bag anyone is using. They leave me completely cold. I would spend £800 on a flight to New York, if I had it spare.

NoArmaniNoPunani · 05/12/2013 18:54

I buy one nice bag a year for around £800 - not Mulberry as I don't like them. Stretched over the year it only works out to just over £2 a day - I'm sure there are people who spend more than that on coffees/cigarettes/newspapers

nomoreminibreaks · 05/12/2013 18:59

A girl at work has one. She was bought it for her birthday by the director she's having an affair with Smile

borraxohastaelalmanacer · 05/12/2013 19:03

I have several 'designer' bags and I'm in my twenties. I buy them when I am lucky enough to receive a bonus or a pay rise or unexpectedly come into some money. 99% of my clothes are high street but when it comes to things like coats, shoes and bags, I prefer to spend more and buy something that will last me a long time.

Also, I live in the Middle East where I don't think a single woman in my office would even consider carrying a bag that wasn't Hermes, Chanel, LV etc...Hmm

kchapper5 · 05/12/2013 19:17

I'm in my 20's. I brought my mulberry at 23 when I had a mortgage but no children, it's real and I brought it outright not on credit. I had wanted one since being a young teenager so saved up an brought one. :)

KrabbyPatty · 05/12/2013 19:42

Fakes?

My (very wealthy) friend has just been to Dubai and bought 2 fake Mulberry bags. They were about £100.

I have 2 genuine ones (gifts from dh, I wouldn't spend that much on a bag) and her fakes look just as good as mine.

I wouldn't buy a fake on principle, but I can see why people do.

Butteredsidedown · 05/12/2013 20:48

The thing I hate about mulberry bags... Is the logo.

I'd be happy to own one without the logo. I quite like them and the styles they do. Hate, hate, hate the ones with the massive gold plaques on them. Gaudy and tacky.

NewChoos · 05/12/2013 20:55

My bags don't have the big logo on - I quite agree!

EmGee · 05/12/2013 20:59

In theory, I agree with ArtandCo. I still wear cashmere sweaters that my mum wore over 40 years ago when my dad worked for a knitwear company and got them as samples. They are bobble free and in perfect nick.

Sometimes though expensive is not always best - I have an Omega watch (it was a gift) which should, in theory, do me a LONG time. It's now 6 years old. I have had to pay to replace the clasp on three different occasions (not covered by warranty/guarantee). It annoys me because prior to it I had cheapie watches whose straps/clasps never broke/became loose.

Anyway, I digress. Back to Mulberry.....

wasabipeanut · 05/12/2013 21:01

I genuinely don't understand it. I probably could have one as a Christmas gift if I asked DH nicely but I'd rather have a nice cashmere jumper and a pretty Dartington flower bottle for example.

I'm not really tuned into bags tbh. I have the dreaded Cath Kidston spotty satchel but 18 months off being slung over a buggy and generally battered it still looks tip top. I suspect a Mulberry wouldn't.

AlwaysWashing · 05/12/2013 21:05

My hateful MiL buys them for me for Christmases some years - it's the reason I put up with her. Shallow? Me?

CreamyCooler · 05/12/2013 21:07

I think you have hit the nail on the head there Wasabipeanut. I have two very expensive bags ( much nicer than Mulberry) but I didn't want or get them until I was in my early forties, my children were teens or grown up and I could properly afford and enjoy them. When I was busy looking after babies and toddlers I would think spend that sort of money on a bag was nuts.

bishboschone · 05/12/2013 21:11

In my early 20's I had loads of money . I
Lived in a big house with my parents , my dad bought me a car and I earned around 25k a year .. I paid around £40 a month rent and I bought no end of designer stuff
.. I know I was lucky but I bet I'm not unique .

babybarrister · 05/12/2013 21:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NoArmaniNoPunani · 05/12/2013 21:20

This thread made me think of the bench one too babybarrister

santamarianovella · 05/12/2013 21:33

Love your name noarmani Grin,

I love expensive bags too, I have a couple of celine bags,and would love to buy a chanel one day,I don't think its a crime or makes you. Less of a person to like expensive bags,we all have our " thing" ,some love to splurge on bags, for others its theatre tickets! And I find it [shocking] that theatre tickets cost so much,but no one is complaining about that! Or finding it unacceptable,

DontmindifIdo · 05/12/2013 21:42

A lot of the PAs I used to work with treated bonuses as treat and handbag funds, often PA bonuses were around a month's wage, if you didn't have DCs or other big costs, it's easy to say "well, it's an extra £1.5 - 2k, let's spend it on a bag!" and it not be a big deal. IMO, the same extra money split into monthly pay rises wouldn't be saved up for a big item, but getting a lump sum (that you can't count on getting) did tend to make it seem acceptable.

Another way to look at it, if you smoke 2 packets of fags a week, that's about the same cost as a mulberry handbag over a year, do you look at young people smoking and wonder how they can afford it?

CreamyCooler · 05/12/2013 21:44

I often read things about people paying to upgrade their plane tickets. No one says can't you just sit with everyone else ( and use the money for a bag/give to charity)

DontmindifIdo · 05/12/2013 21:51

I love that there's a few of us who look at the price of smoking/drinking/buying take out coffees and buying posh bags! Grin

Actually, it's interesting because anything like this where there's something that's expensive, you often get people saying "how can they afford it?" while at the same time assuming that all their other expenses are the same. So you get people who don't smoke (like me) thinking how the hell can anyone afford to smoke, without thinking that probably people who do (but have the same income) have fewer lunches out, eat cheaper food, have cheaper holidays, fewer/cheaper new clothes etc.

Bumblequeen · 05/12/2013 21:51

I agree that some people spend the equivalent of a designer bag on cigarettes, alcohol or socialising. A colleague of mine smokes and moans she is always broke. Her cigarette spend must be at least £150 a month.